EYES NEVER LIE,DARLING!

The Plage De La Côte Des Basques, Biarritz, was a beautiful beach on the banks of Bay of Biscay,and correspondent to it’s beauty, basking in the heat of the sun with a layer of sun-screen applied on the exposed parts of her body, was Matrix. Lying on a thin mattress from India,which was a gift from her mother,was apparently the only piece of item in her life, that reminded her of the loving family she had left behind in the year 2019 when she went to study in Paris.This was her dream, to travel as far away from her country as she could possibly imagine. When she finally got the offer letter from Sorbonne University to teach as a Professor of Mathematics, she couldn’t believe it even after being pinched five times by her best friend Sadhana, that she was finally going to her dreamland!But little did she know what all fate had planned for her.

Today,on her 32^nd birthday, she was lying all alone in her black bandeau ,just like she had imagined growing up in a small government-owned house in Prayagraj. The only flaw was that her immature teenage brain could not comprehend the thought of having a male partner to accompany her on her quests.Now, that she was looking at so many couples enjoying on the beach,she was suddenly reminded of the urge to be loved that she had killed as a teenager. She was reminded of her long- lost love Rajat, a six feet two inches, handsome boy who had grown extraordinarily well as compared to most boys in her school.Just the thought of Rajat , now gave her goosebumps, even though she was now oceans away from the first love of her life.

She clearly remembers the little green eyes, with the long , black lashes protecting them.Those eyes had the kind of glow she had never seen in her entire sixteen years of life, when she approached him on a cold,windy evening and saw him behind the ticket counter of the PVR movie theatre, sometime in December.She came to know many weeks after this incident that he had been interning as a ticket seller at the movie theatre that winter break. Had she known before, she would have gone every day to watch a movie, even if it meant suffering from three hours of a horrible movie run.

The way he kept his eyes fixed on her while moving his slender,pink lips to ask the name of the movie she wanted to watch, had her charmed in the very first sight. She still remembers the way she had zoned out and only concentrated on his pulpy lips, how she had wanted to come close to them, close enough to touch them with her own lips, but not kiss them, because that might spoil the divinity of his beauty.The way she wanted to run her fingers through his long,silky,black hair, which were long enough to give his face a nice, attractive appearance , and his shoulders a nice cover of thick chunks of hair falling carelessly here and there. She could easily see his abs , through the tight black shirt, with a straight collar but no pocket, giving his body the kind of uplift that could easily make any guy jealous of his masculinity.The black jeans he wore were complimenting the black shirt, like they were meant just for his body, like he had got his clothes custom made just to stay true to the gifts of beauty he had been bestowed. While she was still day-dreaming about Rajat, she was suddenly woken up from her dream by a huge ball, that hit her right in the face with a force which was much greater than the force of love she had been feeling.

“Ouch,Ouch,Ouch!” cried Matrix in seething pain.

A guy came running towards her and was probably apologizing to her but she couldn’t understand a word.It made the hurt even more worse, when she remembered she didn’t have anyone to defend her or caress her in such situations. Up until the day she left for Paris, her parents and three siblings had always been there for her, protecting her, and guiding her but today she had no one. She was all alone now, in a new country, surrounded by new people, and to make things worse, she didn’t understand a word in French or Spanish except for some words from Despacito and the tunes to Maluma’s songs. She thought at least she could rely on music,to never leave her side.She waved her hand to the guy still apologizing in French or god knows what language,

and said “I’m fine!Don’t worry!”

She then opened her novel to the sixth chapter of The Song Of Achilles,that she had started reading a day before,and immersed her lonely soul into the world of Patroclus and Achilles, the easiest escape she could find from reality and Rajat.But this time she was unable to focus on the book, on the beach, on the water, on the warmth of the sun or anything at all. She couldn’t help but think what Rajat might be doing now, where he must be, did he still love her, or has he already found someone else? After all, it’s been more than fifteen years since she graduated from high school, leaving Rajat behind.With the end of high school, she had ended her beautiful relationship of one-sided love, one special summer.

This budding of premature but true love had begun gradually when they both had to work on the same science project which took an entire summer vacation to finish.With the advent of the ‘Talk-To-Robot Project’ they were building, they got to spend more time together and as they worked together for more hours, it involved more of knowing about each other and less of talking about the robot.It was a truly romantic summer project but Matrix never confessed how much she liked him, scared of losing her friendship and also because, having a boyfriend was a taboo in her family. Weirdly enough she had chosen to change her school after high school,at the suggestion of his father,but if she could make up for things now, she would have never left, even if it meant giving up her job or even the dream of Paris. After fulfilling her lifelong dream, she was somehow unsatisfied, she never really thought her dreams would come true, so she never planned anything in detail.All she wanted was to work in Paris and travel to beautiful places on holidays to enjoy life, but now she knows that one can only realize what was wrong with one’s dreams once they come true.

Unknowingly, she did what anyone would have done in her place.Taking out her phone,she opened Instagram and searched for Rajat’s ID. And voila, there he was, still the same height but somehow more younger in his thirties than his younger self. That doesn’t make sense but it made way too much sense to her.You know the guys who age backwards and keep growing handsome and beautiful as they age,like Hrithik Roshan, Paul Rudd or Keanu Reeves.The thought of a perfect ‘Sugar Daddy’ crossed her mind.The very next moment though, she was instantly surged with an indescribable feeling of jealousy when she came across a photo of him with his wife,in a beautiful maroon red saree with Rajat’s hands around her neck, tying a ‘mangalsutra’. Any person would have felt jealous at this perfect looking couple, for the bride was ten times more beautiful and breath-taking than any bride or woman Matrix had ever seen.

She tried to console herself by the fact that every woman looks much more beautiful on her wedding day with pounds of makeup accentuating the ugly features of their face than on a normal day. She couldn’t help but compare the one time she had wore a saree to her cousin brother’s wedding and had been asked by several uncles and aunties attending the wedding,if she was of age to marry their sons.She was obviously not so beautiful but she was not even that bad to have her man stolen by another woman. It was her who had decided to keep her feelings to herself and change school but today, she was overcome by the feeling of insecurity and possessiveness looking at a man whom she had loved one summer but had never been able to forget.

She kept thinking about Rajat, day and night, while teaching in college, while walking to her classes, while taking a bath, while looking at tall guys with long hair and also, in her dreams. It was a feeling equivalent of losing the most precious and desired thing, like losing a laptop with important presentations just before an important research- proposal meeting. She had started feeling like she had no one and she would probably die alone teaching the students, on one cold, winter morning by a cardiac arrest. She had started giving up hopes of ever finding someone to love. She had actually met all types of guys back in India. The kind one ignores after first dates, and the plethora of one-night stands.Then, the kind who would claim to be in love with her, the kind who promised to marry her one day and also,the kind who would die for her.But she never loved any of them back. You know the kind of feeling where, no one is good enough to light that feeling of love like the one Rajat had sparked.And now, so far away in Paris, not knowing anyone at all, had thrust a whole mountain of loneliness on Matrix.

She decided to come back to India, after struggling with her desolate inner- self for an entire month. She didn’t care if she had lost Rajat, all she wanted was to have someone to love her again.So, without even informing the university of her departure, she packed her bags and bought an online ticket to India. She had not felt so happy in the last two months she had spent in Paris as she was now.The last time she was this happy was when she was leaving India for Paris, on the airport while bidding goodbye to her family members and friends, which involved a few tears from her mother and a huge bear hug from her best friend.Now that she had lived her dream and found it tasteless, she had another dream to work on, one that involved no more lonely nights and crying Sundays.

On the airport, as she was walking happily towards the check-in process, she was suddenly taken by surprise when she heard the same familiar voice she had forgotten about all these years. The low,husky yet clear pitched voice of Rajat. She turned to see if she was mistaken, and was in no more than ten seconds later, hugging a tall guy with well-combed hair wearing a police uniform. She didn’t even realize what she was doing until she was pushed away by the man in uniform.Feeling the jerk travelling through the core of her body, she was taken aback. She could hardly utter a word in her defense, when she heard him say

 “Excuse me Miss? Do I know you?”

Hearing these words,made it pretty clear to her that he had not recognized her. To make matters worse, she had just hugged him without any prior notice and the thought of it, made her cheeks go red. Flushing with embarrassment, she finally drew some courage and said

 “Umm, Hey! It’s Matrix. We studied in St.Mary’s Convent together in high school!”

The guy in uniform let out a slight smile through the corner of his lips and that is when Matrix noticed that his eyes were not green, but a light brown with blackish around the edges of the iris.It was not Rajat!But why was he smiling, she could not understand. Before she could apologize for the mistake she had made, the man in uniform drew close to her and whispered “Here, take my handkerchief. You’re all sweaty and red.”

Left with no other option,she took the handkerchief, shyly. Then, he continued “Hey, I’m Aditya. You must be talking about my son.”

This was the first time she had met Rajat’s father,and she had absolutely no idea he was so much more handsome than his son. The thought of an Indian father looking that macho,was something that only happened on Facebook stories and Instagram reels. But here he was,as fine as an old wine.

Then she remembered, Rajat talking about how his father had left for Europe one day, tired of carrying the burdens of his family at a young age, and never came back.He only sent money orders every month without fail. Rajat hated his father for leaving him at an age of just two years old but his father always remembered his family’s birthdays, anniversaries, and sent beautiful gifts for them on every festival and occasion. Rajat’s mother, on the other hand, was a devoted Indian wife who decided to spend all her life waiting for his husband to come back. She never hated Rajat’s father, instead she respected his wish, and found solace in it. Rajat never understood either of his parents but the love they shared,even after living apart from each other, was something he always admired.He had told Matrix about all these things when she was ranting about peer-pressure from her parents to do well in studies,and how she wanted to run away from her house, as far as she could.This happened one fine day when his father had told her she was supposed to change her school after high school graduation, so she could focus on her IIT preparations.It was Rajat who had talked sense into her that at least she had parents who cared about her future,and are always there for her no matter what unlike his own parents, one living his dream and the other, living her life in a dream.

“I’m so sorry,Sir. I should have asked first!”, cried Matrix, looking down at her feet.

“It’s alright,Miss. After all, a hug from such a beautiful Indian lady doesn’t hurt in a faraway country, does it?” said Aditya, grinning.

Matrix was red and hot again, but this time she was blushing. She had not expected such a remark from an old yet handsome man. She couldn’t help herself from smiling like an idiot.Had it been a person less handsome, she would have been grossed out at the thought of such a flirtatious line from an old man but it was different, somehow enticing.It was then and there she decided that he was no ordinary man, but a god-sent god-like human, to save her from running back to India, instead of living her dream here, in Paris.

Two years after spending each and every day together in Paris, Aditya and Matrix had finally decided to come back to India and get married. On their very first date, in a small cafe near the airport,Aditya had told her how Rajat’s mother had passed away in a car accident and he couldn’t even mutter the courage to go back to India anymore.So,Matrix had asked Aditya to go with her whenever he was ready.It had never occurred to Matrix how hard it would be to face Rajat. When they finally got out of the cab, and stood infront of the small path that led to Rajat’s house , Matrix was paralysed. What was she thinking, meeting the son ,whom she had loved much more than anything, with the son’s father, whom she claimed to love now more than anything.

“Come Matrix!” said Aditya, stretching out a hand for Matrix to hold.In all these years together, she had never told Aditya about her first love.But now she wanted to, so he could take her away and she wouldn’t have to face her first love that was long-lost.

“Papa, is that you?” demanded a voice from behind, sending chills down Matrix’s entire body.

When they both turned,they saw Rajat, standing with a grocery bag in one hand full of vegetables,some tomatoes peeping through the bag.And his eyes, the same green eyes, Matrix had fallen in love with, were staring at her again, but this time they were comparing her age to his father’s probably.

“OH MY GOD! Matrix, is that you?” cried Rajat in such a shock, it could have been easily felt by the entire neighboring city.She looked down at her feet,jerking off Aditya’s hand that she had been holding, ashamed to face the hard truth, that any Indian son in his thirties could never accept a thirty- four year old step- mother, and to top it off, a step-mother he had once studied with.

Rajat hugged his father first and then, Matrix.

With tears in his eyes, Rajat told Aditya how much he had missed him and now that he was a father, he understood why Aditya left.How he wanted to contact him but since they stopped talking after his mother’s death, he lost his address. Then, giving Matrix’s hand back in his father’s hand, Rajat said “I am so happy for both of you.”

Aditya and Matrix both looked up at him, shocked at the gesture.Before either one of them could ask, he said “Eyes never lie, Darling!”